The present invention relates generally to a lifting device and more particularly to a pry bar with a fulcrum assembly which is slidably mounted on the pry bar.
Pry bars are commonly used for lifting furniture in the moving industry and in the carpet cleaning industry in order to place a slide under the furniture so that it may be easily moved.
The pry bar of the present invention pertains to pry bars with an adjustable fulcrum which allows a user to obtain the optimum leverage when engaging the object to be lifted with the pry bar lifting end.
Presently there are two such known pry bar assemblies with an adjustable fulcrum member. One is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,618,020, which discloses an adjustable fulcrum for use with a conventional pry bar. The fulcrum member consists of a tubular body with opposed slots in the sidewall thereof to receive the pry bar. The fulcrum body is generally made of a plastic, such as HDPE. An existing problem incurred with the adjustable fulcrum member of this invention is that the pry bar can slide relative to the fulcrum member after the load is engaged with the pry bar, and the fulcrum position therefore cannot be reliably retained and the fulcrum position must be changed by direct hand manipulation of the fulcrum body.
A pry bar with a sliding fulcrum assembly is also illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,848. A problem incurred with the slidably mounted fulcrum assembly disclosed in this patent is that the fulcrum assembly must be hand manipulated and engaged and disengaged. It does not freely slide along the pry bar and therefore is not capable of self-adjustment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a slidable fulcrum assembly which freely floats along the upper surface of the pry bar for self-adjustment to provide maximum lifting efficiency, yet when lifting pressure is applied to the fulcrum assembly by the pry bar, the pry bar engages the fulcrum assembly to automatically prevent any further relative movement between the pry bar and the fulcrum assembly.